The Nationals have done a remarkable job all season overcoming injuries to key players, but let's be honest: They really missed Michael Morse and Ian Desmond while getting swept in Philadelphia over the weekend. The return of both players to the lineup for tonight's two-game series opener in Miami can only be viewed as a positive thing.

Morse (bruised hand) and Desmond (mild hamstring strain) will be hitting fifth and sixth, respectively, in manager Davey Johnson's lineup. That bumps Jayson Werth and his .391 on-base percentage back up to the leadoff spot, giving the Nationals as potent a lineup as they're going to field at this point in the season.

They've also got the man they want on the mound when they're trying to snap a losing streak: Stephen Strasburg. Not only is the right-hander 3-0 without giving up a run against the Marlins this season, he's also 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA when starting with the Nationals on a losing streak of three games or more.

I'm not in Miami for this series, the last road trip I'm scheduled to miss for the remainder of the season. I will, however, be appearing live on CSN's SportsNet Central at 10 p.m. with analysis of tonight's game, so be sure to tune in for that. In the meantime, enjoy the game and the conversation here…

Missed the last four shows out on the road watching my favorite band. Hopefully, Morse and Desi's return combined with Stras will end this losing streak. Man, I miss watching the games when I can't watch them.GYFNG!!

The Nats 3 hottest hitters are:Lombardozzi: .421 BA in the last two weeks.Tyler Moore: .333 in the last two weeks; 3 of the 5 RBI last weekend.The Shark: .556 over the last two weeks.By comparison,Espinosa: .234 with 14Ks in 41 ABs over last two weeksLaRoche: .231 1 RBI over the last two weeksMorse: .143 over the last two weeks.At what point, do you go with your hottest hands?

Interesting article (see link on the right) about how Atlanta limited Medlen's innings by starting him off in the bullpen with the goal of him being available at the end of the season.You have to wonder if they could miss the playoffs altogether due in part to that decision–could he have won 3 or 4 (more) games for them.

NL, I don't think Atlanta considered Medlen one of their top 5 starters at the beginning of the year anyway so I think that this is really revisionist history seeing as how he's been their most effective pitcher lately. I have only seen Medlen once but I am not convinced that he's Tom Seaver or Greg Maddux just yet.

Pilchard said…"The Nats 3 hottest hitters are:Lombardozzi: .421 BA in the last two weeks.Tyler Moore: .333 in the last two weeks; 3 of the 5 RBI last weekend.The Shark: .556 over the last two weeks.By comparison,Espinosa: .234 with 14Ks in 41 ABs over last two weeksLaRoche: .231 1 RBI over the last two weeksMorse: .143 over the last two weeks.At what point, do you go with your hottest hands?"Never. You go with your best players and you understand the incredibly misleading nature of small sample sizes.

1) your posts are redundant.JD, I'm usually right and you're usually not.That has to count for something.Your Giggleman's Island mentality is why the Nats lost last season when they just might have had a winning record … using less veterans and more top talent from the minors.

Regarding run support (last post} who has JZ faced?Every pitcher has the misfortune of facing an ace or a pitcher on a roll. If any stat people want to really delve into numbers be my guest.Davey's going with the vets, lets see how it goes. I would have put Lombo in left itting second and sat Bryce. But I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

Secret wasian man said…Sad day in DC. Cooley cut. Need the NATS to win and cheer me up. Die ShannahanI was driving to work this morning and heard the junkies go one about Graham Gano being cut… it was actually pretty funny. I will miss CooleyBut to be honest, i am so wrapped into the Nats, I really could care less about the SkinsCan't wait for tonight's game. GO NATS!!!

Re: Medlen. Yes. A lot of it is hindsight. The Atl "assumed" they were playoff bound and that Medlen was not (yet) an Ace and planned accordingly. The Nats "assumed" they were an 85-87 win team, probably not playoff bound and Stras should pitch on regular rest as a starter as JZ did last year. That's why a lot of "why didn't the Nats do X,Y,Z with Stras to manage it better" criticisms are total baloney.

NJ.. It looks like there are 500 people there. Wow! That is not good. After watching the Franchise, I actually feel bad for some of their players (except reyes). Definitely don't feel bad for Loria, he is getting exactly what he deserves.

Whelp, so far, the Nats are making Rickie look like just another Cy Young Award candidate with their anemic hitting. I guess it doesn't matter when or if Morse and Desmond return to the lineup, their anemic hitting is contagious. I also hope Stras "finds his groove" before the game gets out of reach (once again)!

This might not have been a "must win", but it was definitely a "don't play like crap" game, and they're failing spectacularly. Might be time for some of this "veteran leadership" to hold a players meeting and set some people right. This is not a playoff caliber team at the moment

We need a big deal like the other teams. Remember in 2005 when the Nats brought in Preston Wilson for the stretch drive?This game was over in the first inning, by the way, so if Strasburg comes out to pitch, the Nationals obviously don't care about pitch counts or inning counts. Oh, he should keep pitching so he doesn't interrupt his rhythm, cause his rhythm is so good right now….

Forget the Maalox, time to go straight to the bourbon.NatsJack, while it's only one game, I'm thinking much the same. Even when he didn't have command in July, he just could only intermittently throw strikes. He didn't leave so much out there to be hit.I also agree with the "why waste the innings?" thought. Some games post-TJ, the command is just not there. Why throw good innings after bad?

I think the whole shut-down thing has been incredibly distracting for the team. Basically, the Nats are on record that they are not really trying to win it all this year. Why should any of these other guys give their all, when next year is the year that really matters?

Not sure what it is, but the Nats have been playing BAD baseball for about a week. Pressing? Maybe. Tired? Most definitely. Stupid? Unfortunately. But all of it represents BAD baseball. When Carlos Lee steals without a throw, you know teams have figured out you can't keep runners from stealing. Let's start there, calling for more throw-overs from the dugout. Improvement can be slow, but it needs to be constant with a young team.

The Nats have some ridiculous rhythm theory on top of an innings theory. Not only do you have to reduce innings, you can't take a young pitcher out of his "rhythm". Of course, there is no scientific basis for it at all, but it sounds good to baseball people.

That whole thing about looking at who is left on the schedule is garbage. We struggle with Colorado and Miami and seem to do well against San Fran. I guess they want to have Strasburg get hammered so hard that no one will say he should keep pitching.

Pretty bad when the highlights montage is all Fish. Yeah, I'm kinda disappointed. Strassie does not have his stuff. Maybe this is the beginning of the end Rizzo is waiting for. Sorry. Hate to be Debbie downer but this is no fun.

I am kind of disgusted that the Nats are just leaving Strasburg out there to get hammered around the park. Nobody even up in the pen until the score hits 7-0. Nobody on the team even tries to hit, because Strasburg is pitching and that will end the losing streak. On to Detwiler.

Someone else saw this a few starts ago..But I thought Stras was really falling off towards 1st more than usual tonight…There's no doubt to anyone who's watched him closely the last few years he is not right..

I just think the announcers could be a bit more realistic about how the team is playing. Yes, the balls are bouncing against them, but there are other reasons as well for this bad streak. If Desmond can't stay healthy, they need someone who can. You need your SS out there game in and game out, not sitting out most of the second half with niggling injuries.

There's always a high point. Maybe they just reached it and are coming back toward the team they actually are. That could still be good enough to win the division, and I think anyone should be happy with that. If you are now expecting 100 wins, you may as well be a Yankee fan or watch football.

William O. Douglas Loeffler said… You need your SS out there game in and game out, not sitting out most of the second half with niggling injuries. August 28, 2012 8:42 PM ______________________Sort of like negative posters who never show up during the winning streaks?I always thought it was b/c you were just haters, but maybe you had "niggling injuries"

When was the last time Laroche came through in the clutch? He needs a day off every series. Same with Espinosa and Harper. When Sept comes we better see some call ups play. This team is tired and a choke is coming if theyre not careful.

It is funny that some people complain about negative posts and I agree, if you are talking about personally attacking players or being a troll. But many of us post during losses because that is more instructive.In my opinion, it is the true "homers" who are completely unobjective, who post during wins. But I will try to come on the next time we pound team X and post something like: "Take that team X. You suck and the Nats are great."

I bet the Nats would like to have back the 4-10 games that Davey cost them during the year doing his little experiments: think HRod, and that crazy experiment with Wang — and numerous other failures to manage a close game.Davey: A clubhouse genius; on-field dolt.

They are on strange turf and will learn from this. The last 4 teams that have gone to their first WS are collectively 2-16. It takes a while to get the feel of it. Veterans who have been there are great, but they can't experience it for you. Nobody thought this was to be our year in April, and maybe it's not. So be it. It has been a great run so far, and we may still get there. But whatever happens, we'll be better next year.

Swift… agreed. Slumps happen, the good news is Desi and Morse are back, we will be fine. i would like to get a run or twoThe Strass controversy ought to stop now, no big deal with a shut down… I think he is tired, frustrated and is showing a little immaturity in behavior on the mound. Nats will win without him the rest of the ay and this would good for Strass.

Ebay2k, you need to reel it in. If you disagree with something than write, with facts, why you disagree. Calling something "exremental" is argumentum ad hominem and gets you a D in any logic class in any philosophy class in the land.

In Stras' defense tonight (and not to make excuses) Stras was squeezed like no other time all year — this ump wouldn't budge on any corners — and was generally terrible (pitch track constantly bored this out.)

Learn to read William ODL – I said your comments were exceremental. I never said anything about you. Please enlighten us all as to why your fake, unattributed "quote" from Stras was anything but pure excrement?

I don't think there is any question that Desmond could have played last weekend. The Nats and/or he, were being hyper-cautious, but that seems to be the team's way. I am just used to Cal Ripken and Pete Rose type of players who basically are not coming off the field unless you drag them off.

In fact, this board (while hosting a bunch of nice folk) is chock full of Self-deception and rampant Rhetorical Fallacies.Hmm, most conversations in life are fallacies, come to think of it.Oh, but everyone does it, right? (oops, the Rhetorical fallacy of "Common Occurence"

If the Nats blow the division, I wonder what that will do to their nascent, fragile new, fan base?Washington, unlike other cities, Demands a winner — (redskins excepted). That's the just the way it is.

William O has brought very little to this board as far as I can tell. His recent posts give me little incentive to review his older ones to look for something he may have written that is worthy of writing.

Is this Ebay guy the same guy who said we need to get rid of the hitting coach? I wonder how that guy's kids feel after reading that? Isn't that a personal attack on the poor hitting coach? What about saying the Nats are playing BAD baseball? How dare you attack our team's play,,,

If somebody is truly hurt, nobody should gut it out. Do you think that Desmond had that type of injury that ALR had last year? I don't. I think the team was being hyper-cautious and it might have cost them a game, but we will never know. They might have lost all three anyway.

Ehay: YOu take this blogging, posting 'stuff' so seriously that you would even consider "looking up old posts' to get an "I gotcha" on another poster?Such a silly person. The Nats losing really brings out the negative in people — which is also silly.

NatsFanJim,They lose the fan base. I chose to be a fan of baseball after a 15-year absence (Angelos having previously ruined my love of the game). I invested my time and emotion with this team. It's a grind. If we have a GM who doesn't think that is worth anything – who doesn't really want to win – why should I invest my energy in rooting for them. If they collapse, then Rizzo must be fired to restore baseball credibility to this town.

Nats Jim I go to every skins game and have gone to at least 10 games a year for the nats including road games since they came to dc. And I don't live close. My point is i will never switch my allegiance away from any dc team. No matter how doom and gloom i might get.

I had a problem with the whole attitude the last few days. Once again, this is a small sample and it may just be noise, but there seemed to be this feeling that it didn't matter that much because Strasburg was pitching on Tuesday and that was a sure win. That just doesn't exist in baseball. Bob Gibson broke Walter Johnson's record for ERA in 1968 on a defending World Champion, and Gibson only went 22-9.

Why are we losing?Pitching staff is getting worn out.Suzuki is a waste.Zimm needs a shot.LaRoche looks like he needs his Ritalin.Desi isnt ready.Harper is a tantrum throwing .240 hitter whose owned by lefties.Espi is still hitting just .250.Great Player Lombo is a bench warmerHot player Shark is a bench warmerPower hitting Moore is a bench warmer.That's about it; should be enough. I'm shocked we ever got over 10 games over .500

Wait, am I a homer, or a critic of the team? Really can't tell fromNatsfanjim or WODL's comments. But I see Jim has called me a troll, but also a homer. So personal are OK as long as they come from you, but no one else? Go take your truckload of bile somewhere else. As for Desmond, you are not there to see if he can run, stretch, etc. They would not keep him out of games if they thought he was healthy, because he is too important to the team. How can you argue otherwise, given this year's performance by Desi?

Fear and Ignorance Did Verlander have TJ surgery? I was not aware?Strass is scheduled to be shut down which is what i totally support. my point was that the shutdown could be very helpful for Strass because I think he is tiring and he some immaturity is starting to show with him.your Verlander comparison confuses me, unless he had TJ surgery

OK, that's fair..The Nats have not looked as sharp mentally lately, and are playing bad baseball right now….but why is only "instructive" to show up during these losses to point this out? Isn't it also "instructive" to point out the approach that has resulted in the most wins in MLB?…To me, the true fan is able to see both good AND bad

Secret: and I am exactly like you!! Good for us — the true fans. Unfortunately, that's not the general fan base. And if you are a native, and have been following All of our teams for many years, you would know that is true.

The problem is that the Nats' as an organization want a healthy organization that has great players who win for years and years. They probably do not care all that much about winning a title, which, unless you are the Yankees, requires a lot of good fortune. So the Nats don't mind that much whether they win it all or not, as long as they get a result that makes the team more popular going forward.The fans and the players on this year's squad may feel differently.Outside of horse racing, someone please provide an example of a non-injured player who has ever skipped an entire post-season? Sandy Koufax skipped one start for the Jewish holidays, but I can't think of anyone who refused to play in the post-season in order to lengthen his career. Barry Bonds never won a World Series, nor did Ted Williams. Walter Johnson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays won one each. There are no guarantees.

It is called risk aversion, Ebay2k. It is a fundamental concept in economics and life insurance and life in general. The whole Strasburg debate involves risk aversion and the notion that many think the Nats are overly risk averse, to the point where it diminishes their chances to win this year.

On a Bright Note:I have no worries. The Nats have been playing all year like every series was a Big one, another opportunity to Prove themselves.Well, we peaked against Atlanta last week. Facing the Phillies – 15 games out — became the first series the Nats seemed like they could not get up for.Now, it is up to Davey to teach them how to win and get up for games from the prospective of the Top Dog and not the underdog: two totally different approaches.Every loss and every win is Now squarely on Davey's shoulders. This is when he earns his money.I think he can do it, but proof is in the pudding. He hasn't done it yet.

I think I was on here after the big Milwaukee win and a couple of the Houston ones. I am simply more interested in analysis and pure "homers" tend not to provide a whole lot of that and posters tend not to be in much of a speculative mode after a big win.One interesting thing is that the Nats had the best run differential in baseball about ten days ago. It has since dropped like a stone and we are now 30 runs or so behind St. Louis.

Just as there are no guarantees that WITH Stras, the Nats will win or even make it to a WS. That's where the argument to not shut him down because of playoff and WS potential breaks down. Stras pitched tonight, but we didn't win. It's just too hard to speculate. But shutting him down cannot be shown to HURT his career, whereas over pitching has been shown to do harm. Remember, he spent little time in the minors.

William 9:12-POTD. Rizzo fancies himself as an athletic director…he just wants to build a good program…he doesn't really care about winning it all. Just remember…when you see 10,000 people filing for the exits at Nats Park in the 8th inning…ehay2k is one of them. Some people just don't get it.

Swift: You Troll for Trolls — even imaginary ones.Rarely do you give insightful opinions — How about now? What will it take to pull the Nats out of this swoon?Go on the record, dude. Man up and put yourself on the line — for once this season.

Listen all you "true fans" can fill up that special 10% of Nats Park and cry when the Nationals leave town again and wonder why. The Senators left because they put out a poor product and people stopped going to games. You win when you can. Flags fly forever. You never accept the psychology of a losing team. And you never assume the future.

By that logic, why aren't there still four man rotations and guys completing games with 150 pitches? After all, Strasburg is the best pitcher, he should keep pitching until he stops getting outs or gets hurt every game. He's better than anyone coming in from the bullpen. This is the game now, you protect your young pitchers. The Braves did it differently, but they also did it with Medlin.The reason they don't is he loses effectiveness over pitches, over starts, and needs to build up to normal workload. Add recovery from major surgery to that, and any however slight reinjury risk to that. The difference between a Detwiler start and a Strasburg start at this point in the season is what? The team needs to hit, and we'll see what happens. The other clubs have their own issues. I still say 94/95 wins at this point and a few games above the Braves.I mean, how much money do the Dodgers HAVE after all? Ha.

DJB has a point. Although I feel Stras ought to get shut down — the best advice I have ever heard back in my coaching days was "Win the game your in; tomorrow will take care of himself." Valuable, priceless advice for a baseball team. Win today!!!

It is not the Legion of Doom.Semantics about Strasburg–He is going to have to make a public statement or he will be viewed during his career as being soft. That's the way it is. "Rizzo wouldn't let me play" is not going to wash in public opinion if the Nats lose a close post-season series, especially, since I see no evidence that Strasburg actually is pushing the Nats to allow him to play.That doesn't make Strasburg a bad guy or anything. It might be the right decision although it will never be confirmed because it is not susceptible to proof.Strasburg is a man and I doubt that if he and his family were pushing hard for him to pitch that he would be shut down, especially given that he should/could have been yanked after the 2nd tonight, to preserve his arm. I have no idea why he was still out there throwing after the score was 5-0 but I hope to find out.

Yea Davey is right….they don't need a kick in the ass……not an bit of difference in their focus the past week…..only difference is bad luck and great pitchers like Ricky N and K Kendrick…..not…..They are doggin it and the Vets are showing zero leadership. No wonder Rizzo is hot.

"They're going to have to rip the ball out of my hand …" Who is he kidding? The guy with composure issues: the heat bothers him, humidity bothers him, errors bother him, hits bother him, umpires bother him.Sorry, Stras. You haven't earned the right to talk like a bad ass — not yet.

You root for the team you have, not the one you wish you had. Should SF fans stop watching the team now that their best player is suspended? They could still win that division despite A-Gon being added to the LA club, and even a mediocre Beckett will probably help them. Same thing in Cincy, what if they lose their lead to St Louis, does that make them chokers, or just a slightly worse team than the .600 club they are right now?

I agree that the differences among the Nats pitchers is smaller than most people think. It often varies based upon whip, era, and era+ and fips. The damaging thing about Strasburg is the whole mentality of it. The Nats never intended to win this year and it has screwed up their plans and they really have not dealt with the situation well.Honestly, if he is not going to be on the squad for a post-season, it probably is better to get him out by Sept. 1 so that the 25 guys in the dug-out know who he is on-board for this year. There is the notion that he could pitch them into the play-offs in a big game in September but I see little evidence that Stephen would be better at that than Jordan or Gio or Edwin or Det. When Stephen is bad, he often is very bad it seems.

Never make it to the finish line. Nope. But that's ok. Our year was supposed to be next year. This year is all gravy. We've got to GET SOME BATS!!! At least I didn't waste my time watching this game. 9-0 is it in the ninth??!! GET SOME BATS!!

Stras really needs to work on gettting rid of or adjusting that Reverse W delivery of his — he would last longer, throw faster, and gain far better control of his pitches.Everytime I see him pitch, I cringe watching his Uber Torque in his elbow when he Reverse W's. Uh? MCCatty, do you know anything?

blovy8: perhaps, but an arm like his is a gift from God — he could vastly improve his skill set.I wonder if he has the maturity to do that, though. His composure issues have really surprised me about him. Either he is immature or is a very quirky guy.

WODL, I agree with your post @9:35, where you question Stras' effectiveness. All the Nats SP's are pretty close, and can win games on any given day. And as you said, when SS is bad, he's pretty bad. I do not know how they could have changed they way they are handling it. If the decision was made at the beginning of the season, and they let SS pitch all year long as if he'd be shut down, what else could they do but stay the course? Besides, at this point, he may be proving them right.

I see no evidence that Strasburg will ever get better as a pitcher in terms of arm strength. He has been fairly consistent, although last year was actually his best, brief as it was. He may still improve his fielding, cunning and composure, but basically any team would take 15-6 every year with a 3.00 ERA.

If we play like this, we're looking at a sweep by the Cardinals. Our season will be over, and, no, that is not acceptable. This year is not just "gravy." You win when you can, or you never win. We had the opportunity to get Pujols to provide lineup protection for Bryce, but we passed. Same with Fielder.

We will the next 5, That is what I say.By the way I have been anti Eck at the beggining when they werem't hitting. I was anti Eck when they were hitting in July. And I am still anti Eck. That I ahve been since 2010 and continue to be.That being said. Losing is part of the game, scoring 6 runs in 5 games and leading in none of them because your starters having fiven up runs early 4 of the 5) is pathetic. That being said tomorrow is another day, and the least we will be in front is 4, but enough is enough.By the way the Quit-o-meter said 99,7% quuit tonight the last 4 innings. Michael Gonzales got the only passing grade.

My issue with the Nats is that this needs to be a team decision in deference to the players. Will the Shark ever have another chance to win a title? How about La Roche? Jackson may not. I think the plan would have worked better if they had said what the plan was at the beginning of the season. By never fully spelling things out, the other players and fans are left out drifting in the wind.What I mean is, yes, they said they were shutting him down, but they never said (and have never said) when and under what circumstances. They could have said September 1 or they could have said 150 innings or they could have said 25 games or whatever. So once you state a plan that has no rules, you are basically making the other players scratch their heads and wonder what is going on.I still don't understand why he can't pitch ten innings of relief in the post-season. At least that way, he is still dialed in with his teammates. Oh that won't work because … Rhythm or something? Walter Johnson pitched in relief in the World Series. Nolan Ryan never pitched in the World Series except for relief.How is ten innings in the post-season going to blow up the man's arm? And I won't accept any answers that involve rhythm….

So Babip applies to pitchers and not to hitters? Let's face it, the Nats were on a pace to win 101 games with the trend line only increasing. They were not quite that good in reality. They lack big bats and they lack an ability to "manufacture" runs, which is not going to develop this year because they have little or no speed.The 1975 Reds lost 6 games in a row, albeit in May, I think, but it can happen to anyone. Baseball and golf are humbling games.

I fell asleep after the 3rd inning. I dreamed I was on 2nd base and Manassas Nats Fan was on first. We were in the bigs! The Show! Strasburg was pitching. We are both in our 50's. Im 15 pounds overweight, Nats Fan….oh…maybe 17 lbs. I glanced at him at first, I knew by his stare he was thinking the same thing. We were gonna steal! The count got to 2 and 0 on the hitter. Of course, Strasburg was not even looking at us. He didn't give one rats behind about us old farts. Well let me tell you, we exploded after Big Stra gave that final "no look." I felt like Ralph Garr as I barreled into third…safe!! But as every good catcher might do, he threw behind me, looking to get the slower…older Nats Fan. But Nats Fan had gotten a great jump also. Years ago he had told me his idol was Ed "Streak" Stroud and had learned a lot from him. I watched in amazement as Fan went like a locomotive into second with a late "pop up" slide that Davey Lopes and the whole 1970's Dodger organization would be proud of. The ball kicked loose and rolled into center field. I raced home….Nats Fan to third. I glanced at him at 3rd on my way back to the adoring dugout. He smiled. I glanced at Big Stra on the mound…..the urine stain on his pant leg grew wider and darker as I watched. I thought to myself "This can't be the big leagues, they hold runners on in the big leagues. I woke up with my wife shaking me, my Yankee book had fallen to the floor. In my stupor I glanced at the TV…..hmmmm….Marlins 9 Nats 0 Woulda been different if they'd of thrown Joe Coleman I thought. My dog nipped at my leg as I headed upstairs.

The Cardinals are better this year than last year, without Pujols, Jackson and one of their top pitchers. The have the best run differential by far in baseball, but have lost most of their close games.

Sale came out after 4. Sale (15-5) has been Chicago's most consistent pitcher this season, but he worked just four innings. He gave up four runs on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks… (The O's won 6-0). So is Sale hitting the "wall" or do we even know? He has already pitched more than double what he did last year.My observation is this: the leaders are tired and banged up; they have (mostly) played their regulars all year. The under .500 teams are calling up rookies–who, even if they might not be as talented or experienced as the leaders' regulars, are hungry and fresh. Think of Harper when he first came up–now he didn't hustle to make a base hit.Desi is hurt. He is only playing so he doesn't lose his batter's eye while he heals.

What game you watching blov? Tonight Raymond Burr would of stole on us. Riz needs to go in and yell at McCatty. This is stuff you learn at the age of 13-14 when you transition to to the big field. Strasburg was a joke tonight. Its one thing to get hit. Its another just to just zone out and let evryone rip the bags out of the ground. Even Carlos Lee stole. In all seriousness, we should shut Stra down now. He has had a very good year. I would guess he is at about 80% He has no location….much like JZimm last year. He is 24 years old. The guy has a tremendous future. If we don't finish the year great….so what. And besides…Lannan has earned it

BigCat, agree (well, except about Lannan). The sense of "entitlement" here is amazing–to me. The guys busted their butts (and their bodies) to get the record they have, but whoever got entranced by the 99% chance of playoffs or 90% chance of winning the division has not watched baseball. It gets harder from here, not easier.

Nats Lady gets the eagle eye observation of the night for this: "Desi is hurt. He is only playing so he doesn't lose his batter's eye while he heals."Great point, and you're probably right. After 128 games (and 30 ST games), the wall is real. I think we'll be fine.In Davey We Trust.

In other news:Matt Skole has 101 RBIs in 113 games.Potomac outfielder Kevin Keyes, the 2010 seventh-round pick from U. of Texas, becomes the fifth player in the Nats' system with 20 home runs, joining Skole, Corey Brown, Steven Souza Jr. and Jason Martinson.Keyes' on base percentage is woeful, but he's got pop. He hit 17 homers last year at Hagerstown.

Barves win. Medlen's scoreless streak at 28 and a-third innings.Barves four game. They'll stay there.Back away from the ledge, people. We're in the middle of our worst stretch of ball all season … and we still have a four-game lead.In Davey We Trust.

NatsFanJim……absolutely correct. You hit it right on the head. If I say it, I'm a troll. Watch out. If you don't agree with the other posters because you don't live in Fantasy Land with them, you'll be trolling too. WE NEED BATS!